The inaugural Junior Elite Championship, hosted By T.T. Crouch Golf Instruction, brought 45 local youth golfers to Chapel Hills Golf Course in Mount Vernon on July 26 to compete in age groups for championship honors.
Crouch, who organized and hosted the event, fresh from his instruction in the Mount Vernon Junior Golf League, is the Mount Vernon High School JV golf coach, former assistant golf coach at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, and former PGA Canada Tour champion.
“Our inspiration for the Junior Elite Championship came from the Hiawatha Juniors, an old junior tournament located at Hiawatha Golf Course,” Crouch said.
“In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, Coach Kent Miller (Mount Vernon golf coach) had a junior event every summer in Mount Vernon called the Hiawatha Juniors. When coach Miller retired, junior golf and junior tournaments fizzled away in Mount Vernon,” Crouch said. “We wanted to create an opportunity for kids to compete and play close to home. Mount Vernon High School golf coach Anthony Savage and I sat down one evening to put together a junior tournament called the Junior Elite Championship. We wanted to give kids the same, if not more, opportunities in golf as we did growing up.”
The Junior Elite Championship is an open tournament for golfers in the central Ohio area where anyone in the age categories can sign up and play.
“We wanted to provide an opportunity for players to compete in a tournament right before the high school season kicks off next week,” Crouch said.
The competition categories were split between boys and girls, 16-19 and 13-15.
Boys 16-19
Vaughn Harbor shot a 35-37–72 to win the boys 16-19 division among 16 golfers, using four birdies – two on par 5s – to take a two-stroke win over Harrison Williams and a three-stroke advantage over Emerson Grassbaugh.
Boys 13-15
Nathan Tripp fired a 39-36–75 to best Dylan Thomas and Declan Richardson by two strokes in the 21-golfer field. Thomas shot a 39-38–77 to tie Declan Richardson’s 40-37–77, finishing two strokes ahead of Bobbie Kieber, Jr. Tripp sank a birdie on the front nine and added three more on the back nine during his round. Thomas used one birdie to match Richardson, who finished with an eagle and two birdies for the round.
Girls 16-19
Amaiah Gammell won the girls 16-19 bracket with a 48-42–90 to overtake Emma Stewart’s six-stroke lead after nine holes to top four competitors. Stewart finished with a 42-49–91 for second place, and Somi Bright was third with a 48-47–95. Gammell and Stewart each finished with one birdie.
Girls 13-15
Olivia Jones took the girls 13-15 competition by six strokes over Ceci Grassbaugh, with a sharp 42-37–79 to own the four-golfer field. Grassbaugh led after nine holes with a 41 and finished the day with an 85. Jones holed back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 during her hot back nine. Grassbaugh birdied the eighth hole on the front nine. Samantha Spearman was third with a 92.
